I am Linda and along with my husband Richard and our dog Muffin we enjoy our summers on the UK's canal system

Tuesday, 9 May 2017

Above Eynsham Lock (River Thames) – Monday 8th May

A story of bridges solved by a mathematical solution!

We only had a hop, skip and jump to where we are now moored. Basically, we are killing time before we go
back to Oxford on Thursday.

I have absolutely nothing to blog about today so I’m going to bore you
all silly with some bridge information!!
Why? Because I like bridges –
especially odd bridges and, as you proceed through the “really interesting
facts” below, I used to live in Shepperton and Walton bridge was always a real
pain.

This
bridge is at Iffley Lock and is called The 'Mathematical' Bridge. It was built by the Thames Conservancy in
1923. It was built as a tribute to the
similar bridge over the Cam in Cambridge.
This bridge was designed by William Etheridge, and built by James Essex
in 1749. The bridge appears to be an arch but, is in fact, composed of entirely
of straight timbers which are built to an unusually sophisticated engineering
design, hence the name. A popular fable
is that the Cambridge bridge was designed and built by Sir Isaac Newton but he
couldn’t have been directly involved since he died in 1727, twenty-two years
before the bridge was constructed. The
first photo is of the Iffley Bridge taken on May 6th and the second
is of the Cambridge bridge taken (by me) on 22nd February 2015.

Another Mathematical Bridge was built, again over the Thames but between
Shepperton and Walton-on-Thames. The
bridge was also designed by William Etheridge.
Construction of the bridge was started in 1748 and was completed in
1750. The construction was paid for by Samuel Dicker who was the MP for
Plymouth and owned property in Walton on Thames. By paying for its construction
Dicker also obtained the right to collect tolls from users of the bridge under
the statute. Opponents to its construction comprised: ferry operators, who
foresaw an impact their livelihoods; the bargees who thought it would make the
river unnavigable; and a minority of residents of Walton-on-Thames who were
worried about an influx of undesirable elements from substantially rural and
wayfaring villages of West Middlesex north of the river. Despite the late
opposition following his Act, Dicker pressed on with construction, probably
motivated by his own desire for easy access to London and for the financial benefits
the tolls would bring.

The
Old Walton Bridge was supported by four central stone piers connected by three
arches built of wooden beams and joists. The span of the central arch was 130
feet - at the time the widest unsupported span in England. The other two main
arches were each 44 feet, though Dicker later suggested that the design would
have allowed for side spans of 70 feet or more. Away from the water were five
further small brickwork arches on each side of the river. Although considered
an impressive feat of engineering at the time of its construction, the bridge
stood for only 33 years. Dicker died in London in 1760 and his estates in the
area were sold. The bridge passed to his nephew, Michael Dicker Sanders, but he
found it difficult to meet the costs of its upkeep. A report on the condition
of the bridge in 1778 suggested that decay in the wooden frame made it
unsuitable for use, and it was dismantled in 1783 to make way for a stone-clad
brickwork bridge which was completed in 1788 and eventually collapsed in 1859.

Caneletto
painted the original Walton Bridge in 1754

A
second Walton bridge made of stone (and internally of brick) was opened in
1788. This bridge inspired three paintings by Turner in 1805 of different
scenes featuring the bridge.

The second
bridge stood for 73 years until disaster struck in August 1859. The two central
arches collapsed suddenly into the river.

A third
bridge was built 1863-1864. In 1940, the
bridge was damaged during a German air raid. The structure was weakened as a
result and weight limits were imposed. After the war, and the construction of
the fourth bridge, the third bridge remained in use for pedestrians and
cyclists but by the 1980s it became too costly to maintain it and it was
demolished in 1985.

The
fourth bridge was constructed in 1953 on the downstream side of the old bridge,
using a construction designed by A.M. Hamilton.
It was used initially by motor traffic, but, after the opening of the
5th bridge in 1999, it became a pedestrians and cyclists only bridge.

In
1999, while the fourth bridge remained standing for use by pedestrians and
cyclists, another temporary structure, the fifth bridge, on the site of the
original bridges, was opened for vehicular traffic. However, engineers
predicted structural weakness by 2015, and plans had to be made for a new
bridge.

The
sixth bridge was opened on 22 July 2013.
The £32.4 million bridge has no piers in the river, thus opening up
views along the river and improving navigation for boats.

All
the above photos, with the exception of the last two, have been borrowed from
the internet.

If
you are still awake hopefully there will be more to blog about tomorrow!